


Five Times The Dragonborn Saved His Companions, And The One Time One Of Them Saved Him

by Josh89



Series: The Dragonborn Comes [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Non-Canon Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-19 01:56:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18129431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh89/pseuds/Josh89
Summary: The five times that the Nord Dragonborn, Savard, saved the lives of his companions and the one time that one of his followers decided to return the favour.





	Five Times The Dragonborn Saved His Companions, And The One Time One Of Them Saved Him

The First Time - Lydia:  
Savard tightened his grip on the steel sword at his side as he slipped through the archway, turning to speak to the young brown-haired woman behind him. “It all seems clear. Don’t let your guard down yet though, Lydia. We don’t know what kind of dangers we might be dealing with up ahead”.  
“As you wish, my thane”.  
The torch in the Nord man’s hand spluttered, sending shadows across the cavern’s stony floor as the pair moved quietly through the room. After approximately five minutes, a soft rattling sound caused the duo to stop in their tracks, drawing their weapons instinctively. The Dragonborn lifted the torch to his mouth and extinguished it with a breath before replacing it with the large shield that had been slung across his back, causing Lydia to glare at him. “That was our only source of light, my thane” she muttered.  
“I’ll relight it once we’ve dealt with this”.  
The subtle ‘twang’ of a bowstring caught his ear, and he whirled to face Lydia immediately. “Fus!”  
Before she even had time to ask him what he was doing, she felt a blast of energy hit her full force, sending her sprawling backwards across the ground as an arrow clattered harmlessly to the ground exactly where she had been standing just seconds ago. She sat there for a minute in a stunned silence, glancing between the man she had sworn to serve and the arrow that now lay harmlessly between them. “Thank you, my thane”.  
He nodded, though his eyes remained resolutely focused on the direction from which the arrow had come. “Don’t mention it”.

The Second Time - Farkas:  
He pivoted on the balls of his feet, just narrowly avoiding an arrow fired by a Draugr on the ledge above him. “This place is crawling with these damn Draugr, Savard!” his companion complained, raising his shield just in time to block a second incoming arrow.  
“Well, this is a Nord ruin, so I’m honestly not sure what else we should have expected to fight” the Dragonborn replied grimly, slashing at the undead in front of him before stabbing it through the chest and slamming it with the flat of the blade, causing it to tumble, unmoving, to the ground.  
“We need to get up onto that ledge somehow. There must be a flight of stairs somewhere in this room. Or even just a pathway that leads to a flight of stairs. Anything along those lines”.  
He ducked another Draugr’s slash that had been aimed for his neck, piercing the creature through the chest with a quick thrust before withdrawing it and using the force of the weapon to spin the body away from him. As he turned back towards his companion, a sudden crackling sound caught his ear. “Farkas, get down!”  
As the werewolf ducked, a spike of solid ice shot past him, passing through the exact space where his head had been only seconds before, embedding itself in the wall on the other side of the room. “That was almost too close”.

The Third Time – Karliah & Brynjolf:  
“Damn! This place is coming down! Quick, get the Skeleton Key and the Eye and let’s get out of here!”  
Savard nodded, hurriedly crouching and searching the body at his feet, quickly finding and pocketing the Key they’d been trying to recover and the two huge gemstones that had been in Mercer Frey’s pockets. “Brynjolf, the door!”  
The fiery-haired thief whirled to the door, giving it a strong shove. When nothing happened, he tried again, before turning back towards the dark elf and the Nord warrior standing over the dead body of their former Guildmaster, shaking his head sadly. “No luck there, lass. Something must have fallen on the other side of the door because it isn’t moving!”  
“We have to find another way out of here before the place fills with water!” Karliah exclaimed.  
Savard turned his attention to the roof of the cavern above them, ignoring the mutters of his two fellow thieves (and Nightingales) as he furiously scanned the rock for any holes that might prove large enough for the three of them to fit through. Nothing obvious… But I can see something on the other side of that rock above the statue’s head. And it looks loose. “Karliah! Brynjolf!”  
The two turned to look at him as the water level started rising, and he gestured to the rocks above them. “We might be able to get out of here through the roof!”  
Reaching into a small pouch at his belt, he withdrew two vials filled with milky-white liquid, tossing them to his companions before quickly pulling one out for himself. “Potions of Waterbreathing! Don’t drink them until you absolutely must, just to ensure that we have enough air to safely get out of here!”  
It took a couple of minutes for the water to rise to a level that the Dragonborn was comfortable with, but it was soon at the height where his head was brushing against the ceiling with every second that passed by. Karliah and Brynjolf bobbed steadily beside him, watching him carefully. “Great plan, lad. But what now?” Brynjolf questioned in the accented voice that had originally convinced the Nord hero to become part of the Thieves Guild in the first place.  
“Now we drink the potions”.  
With one hand, he put the vial to his lips, pulled the cork out with his teeth before spitting it into the water, and downed the contents in a single gulp before plunging underwater, his fellow thieves right behind him. Just a couple of short minutes later, the three were pulling themselves out of the water and onto a rocky ledge in the cave the Dragonborn had been aiming for. “That was quick thinking, lad. I don’t know if we would have got out of there if you hadn’t spotted that hole into this cave” Brynjolf gasped.  
“I probably wouldn’t have known what to look for if you hadn’t trained me to, so I owe you thanks as well”.  
The red-haired thief nodded, watching the blonde Nord with exhausted eyes as he spoke again. “I guess you do, lad. I guess you do”.

The Fourth Time – Barbas  
The Dragonborn hefted the axe in his hands as he approached the shrine for the second time. Thoughts played through his mind as he moved, his concern for what was about to happen obvious on his face. The Daedric god he was dealing with was known for tricky deals and twisting wishes to ensure the most chaos, so what worried him most was how the god would try to twist the situation to his own benefit next. “Ah, you’ve got the axe! And my dog. Splendid”.  
Savard looked down at the dog next to him, then back up at the statue. “We’re back. Now, fulfil your end of the bargain”.  
Savard could almost see Clavicus Vile laughing as he spoke again. “Ah, but it almost seems a shame to give a weapon like that away, doesn’t it? I suppose I could be persuaded to let you keep it… But only if you use the axe to kill Barbas. Simple as that”.  
Savard managed a wry smile. He’d been somewhat expecting that. From what he knew of the lore of the Daedric Princes, Barbas was essentially the physical manifestation of Clavicus Vile’s consciousness. But he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of keeping the promise he’d made to the dog only hours before. Shaking his head, he threw the axe to the ground in front of the statue and took a step backwards. “No deal. Take the axe and take back Barbas!”

The Fifth Time – Erandur:  
Savard and his dark elf ally stared down at the purple-clad bodies of the two Disciples of Vaermina that had tried to prevent them from reaching the Skull of Corruption. “I… knew Veren and Thorek. They were my friends. Is this punishment for my past? Is it Mara’s will to torment me so?”  
The Dragonborn placed an encouraging hand on the dark elf’s shoulder. “We had no choice”.  
The priest of Mara nodded grimly at him, knowing he was right. “Yes. You’re right. If they needed to die so that Dawnstar could live, then it was worth the price. It’s time. The Skull must be destroyed. If you’ll stand back, I’ll perform the ritual granted me by Lady Mara”.  
The priest’s footsteps echoed off the stone floor as he walked up the steps to stand in front of the eerily-glowing staff. “First, an incantation to remove the barrier”.  
Savard took two steps back warily, his eyes never leaving the priest. Some spells could have explosive effects. He hoped this spell wasn’t one of them. “I call upon you Lady Mara. The Skull hungers. It yearns on memories and leaves nightmares in its wake. Grant me the power to break through this barrier and send the Skull to the depths of Oblivion”.  
The barrier vanished almost immediately (and without any explosions, much to Savard’s relief), and a feminine-sounding voice filled the Dragonborn’s head. The voice was soft and sweet, almost like Savard’s own mother’s voice. “He’s deceiving you. When the ritual’s complete, the Skull will be free. And then Erandur will turn on you. Quickly, kill him now! Kill him and claim the Skull for your own! Vaermina commands you!”  
Savard shook his head, gritting his teeth as he sheathed his sword. “No”.  
In front of him, Erandur was standing there with his head back and palms raised, many particles of red-coloured energy flying from his body into the Skull. A fierce ‘thrum’ sound filled the air, and the Dragonborn smiled triumphantly. It was nearly over. “Destroy the Skull, Erandur! Let’s finish what we came here for!”  
Almost as soon as he had spoken, the Skull simply ceased to exist, fading back into Oblivion with an almost-inaudible ‘pop’. Erandur gave a small smile of relief. “We did it. Dawnstar is free. Thank you, my friend”.  
“It’s been fun, Erandur. It really has”.

The Favour Is Returned – Serana:  
Vyrthur was practically growling in frustration. All the formerly frozen creatures that he had sent at the pair facing him had been dispatched, including his Ancient Frost Atronach, and currently lay in ruined pieces around them. With one last determined grin, he eyed the ceiling above him, knowing exactly what his final move would be. “No! I won’t let you ruin centuries of preparation!”  
“Surrender and give us the Bow!” the vampire girl yelled.  
The blonde-haired man next to Serana… next to the final piece he needed for his master plan… looked wary. The snow elf felt like spitting in disgust. Humans were nothing more than the merest cattle to him and his kind, yet this girl insisted on treating this particular human as if he actually mattered. Vyrthur allowed himself a slight smirk. If that was the case, it would make it even more satisfying to personally break Serana’s spirit by squashing him like the bug he was. He raised his arms, and he could clearly see the dawning realization on the mortal’s face as the warrior finally realized what was about to happen. “Death first!”  
And with that, he tugged his hands downwards suddenly, pulling the ceiling down with them.  
The last thing Savard felt before the ceiling caved in on them was the feeling of Serana’s hands on his chest, giving him a violent shove. He fell backwards, managing to duck into a roll at the last second to avoid hitting his head on the floor and knocking himself unconscious as parts of the cathedral’s roof landed where the two of them had been standing only seconds before, and he coughed violently as a cloud of dust filled his vision. A familiar shape loomed over him, and he could barely make out a slender figure reaching down to move some of the rocks that had fallen around him before kneeling and holding out her hand to help him up. “Are you alright?”  
He nodded as she pulled him to his feet, brushing the dust off his armour. “Thanks to you”.  
She nodded grimly. “Just returning the favour”.


End file.
